You are on page 1of 1

When viewed by transmitted light through a depth of several feet, pure water

exhibits a light blue colour which may be altered by the presence of organic matter
to greenish blue, green, greenish yellow, yellow or brown. Colour is removed to
make water suitable for general and industrial applications. Coloured industrial
wastewater may require colour removal before discharge in to watercourses.
The term colour used here is true colour that is the colour of water from which
turbidity has been removed. The term apparent colour includes not only colour due
to substances in solution but also due to suspended matter. In some highly coloured
industrial wastewaters, colour is contributed principally by colloids or suspended
materials. In such cases both true colour and apparent colour should be determined.
The optimal method for removing turbidity without removing colour has not been
found yet. Filtration yields results that are reproducible from day to day and among
laboratories. However, some filtration methods may also remove some true colour.
Results after centrifugation may vary with the sample nature and size and speed of
the centrifuge. When sample dilution is necessary it can alter the measured colour, if
large colour bodies are present. While reporting results, the pretreatment adopted
need to be mentioned.
The visual comparison method is applicable to nearly all samples of portable water.
Pollution by certain industrial waste may produce unusual colours that can not be
matched. In such cases an instrumental method is useful.
Method - Platinum-Cobalt
Principle
Colour is determined by visual comparison of sample with known concentration of
coloured solution colour is expressed in terms of haze standard unit which is
defined as the colour produced by 1 mg/l of platinum in the form of chloroplatinic
acid in the presence of 2 mg/l of cobaltous chloride hexahydrate. If it is not possible
to match the colour with the standards the yellow component should be determined
by the photoelectric method.

You might also like